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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198116">Trainer’s Log: A White Nuzlocke [ARCHIVE]</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Guma'>Guma (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black &amp; White | Pokemon Black and White Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Constructive Criticism Welcome, Gen, Nuzlocke Challenge, POV First Person</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:07:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198116</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Guma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An up-and-coming Trainer from Unova decides one day to record their progress in a real-time adventure log. But things take a turn for the worse as his Pokémon start dying due to his lack of healthcare benefits. What will happen to him? Who will live and die? Only time will tell.</p><p>This run has been cancelled and is only here for historical purposes.</p><p>All criticism welcome.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. December 20, 2020 1:15 PM</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>NUZLOCKE RULES (WHITE)</p><p>—If a Pokémon faints, it is considered dead and must be permanently stored in a dedicated PC box.<br/>—I can only catch the first Pokémon I encounter in each area. If it faints, flees, or is a duplicate of a living Pokémon (based on individual species, not evolutionary line), tough shit.<br/>—If all of the Pokémon in both my party and PC die, I will be forced to use one of my dead Pokémon to try and catch the first new wild Pokémon I encounter—at full HP. Alternatively, I could just take a gift Pokémon.<br/>—I must nickname all of my Pokémon, for the sake of forming strong emotional bonds. These nicknames cannot be changed.<br/>—I may not use items in battle except Poké Balls and held items. Items outside of battle are fair game.<br/>—The battle style must be on Set.<br/>—Zekrom must be either caught in a Master Ball or released immediately.<br/>—The run is over once I defeat Alder.<br/>—Battles that do not give EXP, such as the Battle Subway, do not count toward the run.<br/>—Emulator-specific tactics, such as savestates and turbo, are banned.<br/>—The run must be documented in real time, as I play through the game. I will write a new chapter every time I save in-game (unless I devote an entire play session just to grinding).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mom gave me this journal in order for me to save records of my progress. At first I didn’t want to, but after what’s happened today, I figured I needed to.</p><p>Bianca’s 13th birthday was a week ago, so she arranged with Professor Juniper and decided that me, her, and Cheren should all start our Pokémon journies on the same day. Today was that day. The Professor sent three special Pokémon to my house, probably because Bianca’s father is stingy when it comes to guests. Bianca arrived late as usual, and I’m pretty sure Cheren came before I even woke up, also as usual.</p><p>Given the choice between Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott; I instantly picked Oshawott. I love Samurott; it’s one of my favorite Pokémon, and I always love seeing it in Battle Subway fights on TV. Bianca picked Tepig, leaving Cheren with Snivy. Bianca being Bianca, she suggested we have our first Pokémon Battle right in that room, and I agreed not really thinking straight. Oshawott swept Tepig in only a few turns, and the Pokémon bashed all around my room and left it a complete mess.</p><p>Suddenly I was glad I could afford cleaning services.</p><p>Cheren, seeing as I had won and the room was already a mess, offered to battle me as well. I accepted. Snivy is known to be the fastest of the Unova starter Pokémon, but Oshawott outsped and swept it. Apparently, she had a Naïve nature, which is how she was faster than Snivy. (She was also a girl. Lucky!)</p><p>Mom was understandably mad at me and Bianca. I offered to help, but she just gave me a Town Map and Xtransciever and told me to leave. I followed Cheren to the Professor’s lab to thank her and get our Pokédexes, but Bianca was late as always. I decided to sneak out and check on her in her house for once. I could see her dad scolding her. I could also make out words like “r*******” and “ungrateful”. Then again, that may have just been my imagination—but considering Bianca’s storming out of the house ugly-crying, it may not have been.</p><p>The Professor gave us Poké Balls and Pokédexes, which I used first to give Oshawott a nickname. I named her Nobunaga, after the famous Ranseian warlord. As I set off to Route 1, Mom rushed up to me, said her final goodbyes, and we hugged. I guess I have it lucky compared to Bianca . . . .</p><p>We all agreed to take our first step on Route 1 at the same time. We counted to three and everything. Then Bianca and Cheren made up a game where we could see how many Pokémon we could catch before reaching Accumula Town. I never understood the appeal of just blindly catching Pokémon—personally, I just planned to catch the very first thing I found on each route and be done with it. So I did. I caught a Lillipup and named him Graham.</p><p>Before meeting up with Cheren and Bianca, I decided to train up Nobunaga and Graham by fighting the wild Pokémon on the route. But . . . remember when I said something had happened today? Well, this was it.</p><p>One Patrat was fighting Nobunaga, and Nobunaga was winning, but the Patrat landed a critical hit and knocked Nobunaga out cold. But this was different from the Pokémon fainting I always saw in other battles. Nobunaga had a massive gash in her chest, and was also bleeding a storm from her mouth. This wasn’t right. In a haste, I rushed over to Cheren and Bianca through the tall grass. Graham fended off the wild Pokémon and grew several levels.</p><p>“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Cheren told me. “We’ve got to get to the Pokémon Center <i>right now</i>.”</p><p>When we got to the Center . . . my worst fears were confirmed. This was the absolute worst-case scenario. Nobunaga had been killed. She was dead. Like, <i>dead</i> dead. There was no bringing her back.</p><p>I asked the nurse how this could have been, but she had no idea. She offered to transport the body to Route 7, where it would be buried. I accepted the offer.</p><p>I took out Graham and hugged him for what felt like 15 minutes before finally taking you out. Am I just a bad Trainer? Does Arceus just hate me in particular? I want to know. I have to know.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. December 20, 2020 2:42 PM</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I was wrong. Arceus doesn’t hate me. I’m just full of crap.</p><p>When I came out of the Center, Cheren told me to come with him to a rally. There were a bunch of men in grey uniforms, led by a man in a robe. The man introduced himself as Ghetsis, and he was the leader of Team Plasma, an organization dedicated to ending Pokémon Training.</p><p>“Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers,” he said. “They get pushed around when they are our ‘partners’ at work. Can anyone say that there is no truth to what I am saying?”</p><p>Cheren said to me, “This is rubbish.”</p><p>But was it rubbish, though? My first Pokémon had <i>died</i> because of me, and Cheren knew it. This Ghetsis man had a point.</p><p>The crowd talked on and on about Pokémon liberation, even after Team Plasma had dispersed. Then, I was suddenly grabbed by the hoodie forcibly.</p><p>“Hey, what’s the big idea?” I asked. It was a green-haired man. He looked sleep-deprived. Which was understandable—Training was already harder than it looked.</p><p>“Your Pokémon . . . I could hear its voice.”</p><p>The man introduced himself as Enn. Or maybe it was just the letter N. He explained how he could hear the voices of Pokémon, and how they wanted to be liberated. He explained by challenging me to a battle. Graham beat his Purrloin with ease. In a display of companionship, he immediately released his fainted Purrloin by holding down the small button inside its Poké Ball before dispersing as well.</p><p>I looked around and remembered just how nice Accumula Town was. Nothing ever went wrong here. There was always live music playing, thanks to that one house with the pianist and the drummer.</p><p>With nothing left to do, I set off for Route 2. The first Pokémon I saw was a Lillipup. I already had Graham, so I skipped it.</p><p>Just then, I heard footsteps. Footsteps I knew well. And heavy breathing, which I also knew well. Sounds of the one and only Mom.</p><p>She chewed me out because I had forgotten to fill out the Pokémon Center Healthcare Guarantee Form. It was due today, and I had been procrastinating on it. The Centers will never accept it. Ever.</p><p>With the Healthcare Guarantee, every Trainer-owned-Pokémon is constantly off the brink of death with the latest portable technology. Battles don’t have to be bloody . . . except battles involving me. All of my Pokémon were sickly, and would be for the rest of my damn life.</p><p>She had heard what had happened with Nobunaga, and told me that if I ever let a Pokémon die again, she would have to revoke my Pokémon Trainer’s license. I agreed, which was a complete lie, and she left.</p><p>Graham, as my only Pokémon, swept all of the challenging Trainers on Route 2. Pokémon battling was even better in person, and easy for now, especially with just one high-leveled Pokémon. Eventually, he was at around half health and tuckered out. Striaton City was just ahead, and nothing could stop me.</p><p>Nothing except Bianca. In her flighty manner, she called out her own Lillipup and challenged me to a battle right then and there. It was against the Trainer code to refuse a battle, so I sent out Graham. He beat out the Lillipup easily, but his health was in the red. You know what this meant—he was on the brink of death. When she sent out Tepig, there was nothing I could do.</p><p>Tepig rammed into Graham and instantly ended his short life.</p><p>Bianca, rather than celebrating, was shocked and silent all over again. She had forgotten about the . . . state I was in. I, meanwhile, was furious. I wanted to do so many unspeakable things to Bianca—I honestly did—but I knew she had it rough already. I headed back to Accumula and gave Graham to the Nurse as well.</p><p>Ghetsis and Enn had been right. Pokémon really were miserable under Trainers. Why, I couldn’t even save the only ones I had because I made a careless mistake. I took out my Xtransciever . . . and then turned it off and hid it deep, deep in my Bag. I didn’t care what anyone said. I <i>would</i> be a Pokémon Trainer, no matter what it took. And I <i>will</i> be a Pokémon Trainer, no matter what it takes.</p><p>I hastily bought as many Poké Balls as I could find and tried to catch the first thing I saw on Route 2 with no Pokémon. After many wasted Balls, I caught a Patrat. Just as hastily, I typed “Disappoint” into the name entry screen—so that’s her name, Disappoint.</p><p>I’m back in the Accumula Center now. I’m gonna train up Disappoint and make sure she and I never leave each other for the rest of this endeavor. But more importantly, I’m going to rematch Bianca. Just to prove I can.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. December 21, 2020 5:18 PM</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Not wanting to be underprepared again, I immediately started grinding Disappoint. I went back to Route 1 first to grind against the low-level Patrat and Lillipup until she had gone from Lv. 7 to Lv. 9. Then I decided she was ready for Route 2, and got her the way to Lv. 11. I had her forget Bide in favor of Detect, and I hope I’ll ever be in a situaion where that will be useful.</p><p>Turning a corner in Route 2, I saw Bianca. She was grinding too.</p><p>“Hey, B!”</p><p>“Oh, hey—”</p><p>I immediately sent out Disappoint, which meant a battle she couldn’t refuse.</p><p><i>See how you like it,</i> I thought.</p><p>“But . . . won’t this kill your Pokémon if it loses?”</p><p>“Just . . . try not to, I guess. Use your judgement.”</p><p>The rematch was pretty anticlimactic. Disappoint knocked out her Lillipup and Tepig in two Tackles each and barely stayed in the green.</p><p>Bianca was flustered. “So what does this mean whenever we battle you? Should we just let you win?”</p><p>Let me win? I mean, I knew I was at a disadvantage compared to other Trainers, but it was because of my mistake, and I deserved to suffer the consequences for it.</p><p>“No, you shouldn’t.”</p><p>“But—”</p><p>“Hit me as hard as you can. Don’t hold back. Tell Cheren, too. Where is he?”</p><p>“The Trainers’ School.”</p><p>“OK.”</p><p>So I finally stepped into Striaton City. I healed at the Pokémon Center, but before fighting Cheren at the Trainers’ School, I decided I needed to be even more prepared. I needed a new find. Preferably a high-leveled one.</p><p>Fortunately, there was another area in sight: the Dreamyard, a remote area just east of Striaton. I went over there and defeated the Trainers, but not without healing Disappoint. They were only a few levels behind me. Eventually I came to a third Trainer, but she did not want to fight. She was sitting at a booth that read, “FREE POKéMON.”</p><p>Now this was a sight. Who would give out precious items for free, let alone Pokémon? I came up to the booth with utmost curiosity.</p><p>“Team Plasma made me see the light,” said the girl. “Pokémon Training doesn’t help either humans or Pokémon—it ends up hurting both. It’s just slavery under a new name, I tell you. That’s why I’m giving away my ‘partner’ to some jerk like you who wants it.”</p><p>I would have argued, but I didn’t feel like it. I just wanted a new Pokémon, so I took her Poké Ball.</p><p>I opened the ball to reveal a Pansear. Perfect for Cheren! He was registered in my Pokédex, and I named him Ferris. As we walked away, I figured I could get back at the girl for guilt-tripping me.</p><p>“Oh yeah, I have no Healthcare Guarantee, by the way. Bye!”</p><p>And from one glance, she seemed to regret giving away her monkey as I headed back into Striaton and back to Route 2. Grinding Ferris was even harder than grinding Disappoint, as its damaging moves—Scratch and Incinerate—were weak. But I did get it to grow one level, and then I felt I was ready.</p><p>I went into the Trainers’ school, and there was a plethora of knowledge about all Pokémon subjects—and a stray Full Heal—but more importantly, Cheren was still there. I immediately brought out Disappoint, anticipating that he wouldn’t bring out Snivy first. But when he took notice, he <i>did</i> bring out Snivy first, so Disappoint Detected a defense drop and then attacked once before switching out.</p><p>Ferris finished off Snivy, also incinerating its Oran Berry. He was then able to defeat his Purrloin in two more Incinerates. Cheren conceded more than he probably should have by giving me some Oran Berries.</p><p>“Useful for the Gym Leader . . . or Leaders in this case. Say, are you sure you don’t want us to hold back on you? That just seems like a mindset that can’t end well.”</p><p>“I don’t want to be belittled, OK? Just trust me.”</p><p>There really are three Gym Leaders: Cilan, Chili, and Cress; who each use Grass, Fire, and Water. Each Trainer in Unova is assigned only one of them based on their starter Pokémon, meaning there’s the strongest chance I’ll get Cilan. In that case, Ferris has some serious catching up to do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. December 25, 2020 7:50 PM</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sorry I’m late today—it’s Christmas Day. I couldn’t talk to Mom, obviously, but she did give me a Fresh Water in the mailbox. I’ll definitely be preserving it. But <i>hoo boy</i>, did a lot happen today.</p><p>I entered the Striaton Gym after Ferris had gotten to Lv. 12, but he soon beat the first Trainer in the red and just barely alive. This would not do, so I grinded him up another level to Lv. 13 so I could beat the second Trainer. All the Trainer Pokémon were Normal-type to accomodate for the three Gym Leaders anyway, so there was no harm in just using Disappoint. I had given Ferris an Oran Berry—and also gave one to Disappoint, just in case.</p><p>The three Gym Leaders greeted me with pizzazz.</p><p>“I’m Chili! I’ll sure light up your life!”</p><p>“I’m as cool as the sea, and my name is Cress. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”</p><p>“And my name is Cilan. I’m, er, short on grass puns at the moment.”</p><p>“We’ll be fighting you based on the very first Pokémon you chose on your journey!”</p><p>“Indeed. And that Pokémon would be Oshawott, it seems.”</p><p>“Er, we heard what happened to that Oshawott, and we’re sorry for your loss.”</p><p><i>Wow, I never would have guessed,</i> I thought. But I wouldn’t have dared say it.</p><p>Cilan continued, “So, um, I’ll try not to make this too much of a challenge!”</p><p>He whipped up his Lillipup as I sent out Ferris. I had him use Leer a few times, but Lillipup used Work Up each time to counter. I still knocked out that dog in one hit. He sent out Pansage, which was his ace and one level higher than Ferris. Incinerate barely brought it down to half, but it countered with, of all moves, <i>Vine Whip</i>. I used Incinerate again to bring it down to almost nil, but it used Vine Whip again.</p><p>I saw what was happening. Cilan was holding back to keep Ferris from dying. He was sandbagging!</p><p>Which I explicitly did not want.</p><p>But I didn’t say anything, instead landing the final blow on Pansage. I had won based on his seemingly letting me win. But hey, I didn’t know that, and so I continued to keep quiet. He congratulated me and gave me the Trio Badge, as well as the TM for Work Up.</p><p>Work Up is an incredibly useful status move that raises the user’s Attack and Special Attack. So naturally, I had both Disappoint and Ferris forget Leer for it.</p><p>Just as I was heading off to Route 3, Bianca arrived, alongside Fennel, an old friend of ours. She wasn’t here to battle—thank Arceus—but she did have an errand for me.</p><p>“There are strange anomalies in the Dream Mist populating the Dreamyard,” Fennel told me. “Some of the Pokémon such as Munna work to generate the Dream Mist to keep themselves and others alive—y’see, it’s basically their life force. But lately, for whatever reason, something or someone has been tampering with it. It’s probably not a big deal, but it will be if we don’t take action. It won’t take long at all.”</p><p>Not wanting to disappoint a friend (again), I tagged along. But first Fennel gave me the Hidden Machine Cut, which I taught to Ferris to get rid of a prickly tree in the Dreamyard. When we got there, there was indeed a surprising lack of Munna compared to my other visits to the yard. I became concerned. Were we too late?</p><p>A member of that Team Plasma group literally kicking one of the Munna proved me wrong.</p><p>“Come on! Out with that Dream Mist!”</p><p>“What the hell are you doing?” Bianca asked. “I thought you wanted these Pokémon to be free!”</p><p>They kicked the Munna aside as if it were nothing.</p><p>“Oh . . . well, you see, we do want this Munna to be free. We merely want a sample of the Dream Mist to help grow more Munna so that it can thrive in the wild and become more populous.”</p><p>“OK, but . . . why are you hurting it?”</p><p>“People <i>kill</i> Pokémon for meat all the time. How is this <i>worse</i> than that? If anything, you’re the monsters here, not us. This Munna just happened to be a feisty one, and it didn’t know about our cause—it didn’t know about our fighting for them.”</p><p>We all looked at each other and pondered. This group seemed well—they just didn’t understand that the ends do not justify the means, which was easily fixable to me.</p><p>“What are you doing mucking about?”</p><p>We froze in place. Out of the shadows emerged the boss man, Ghetsis. I remember the entire rest of the conversation.</p><p>“Please, Master Ghetsis! What did I do wrong?”</p><p>“This charade has gone on for long enough. You and I both know that we’re not serious about this whole liberation thing! It’s all a lie to get those masses to give up their prized partners so we will be the only ones with Pokémon!”</p><p>“Master Ghetsis . . . there are other people here. Why are you giving away our plan? . . . Are you alright?”</p><p>“You’re the one who’s not alright! Now, forget the Dream Mist and get back to work before I strangle you in public!”</p><p>“Yessir!” They tripped on a twig on their way out of the Dreamyard.</p><p>What the actual hell had that been? Had Team Plasma really just revealed their entire ulterior motive?</p><p>Just then, Ghetsis disappeared into thin air, surrounded by Dream Mist. It appeared that he was not Ghetsis at all, but an illusion created by, as Fennel said:</p><p>“<i>Musharna!</i> Only Musharna can create illusions of that caliber and dive deep into other people’s subconscious—y’know? This is amazing! It helped us expose Team Plasma!”</p><p>Sure enough, Musharna emerged and comforted its Munna brethren. Fennel was on the brink of tears.</p><p>“I’m gonna stay here, if you don’t mind. You go tell everyone about Team Plasma . . . or something, I dunno.”</p><p>“You can count on us,” said Bianca.</p><p>We went to Route 3—for real this time—and after beating some Trainers, I decided to use my last normal Poké Ball to catch a Pidove and name her Sue. She was low leveled, which I hoped to change, and I taught her Work Up too.</p><p>We conveniently ran into Cheren. He was admiring his own Trio Badge.</p><p>Bianca spoke up. “Cheren, listen to this. Apparently, Team Plasma isn’t a Pokémon rights group at all! They want to—”</p><p>“Keep all Pokémon for themselves? Yeah, I don’t buy it.”</p><p>“It’s true,” I said. “Why would we lie to you?”</p><p>“Because you think I take everything seriously. And this seems just as plausible as one of Bianca’s ghost stories.”</p><p>“Tell you what. If I can beat you in a battle, you follow us to track Team Plasma. Look, they’ve left behind footprints.” And they had.</p><p>“Fine.”</p><p>I predicted he’d send out Snivy first this time, and he did, so I sent out Ferris and incinerated his Oran Berry again, then took both of his Pokémon out. Again, Cheren rewarded me for my troubles by giving me some Chesto Berries.</p><p>“You’d better prove me wrong, or else.”</p><p>The footprints led to the nearby Wellspring Cave. Inside the cave, the Plasma person from earlier was conversing with another—and they had a snagged Purrloin in their hands, understandably hissing.</p><p>“At least I managed to get this. Ghetsis might just kill us if we go off course. Literally.”</p><p>“We should try murder sometime,” said the other member. “I wonder what it’s like?”</p><p>“No, we’re too honorable for that. Leave that to the Triad. They’re a relic of—oh gods, intruders! Prepare to be subdued!”</p><p>Cheren turned to me and nodded. No words were necessary. He sent out Snivy, while I sent out Sue for experience’s sake. They were the ones who were subdued—with their untrained, possibly illegally-obtained Normal-types. The goons made a tactical retreat, even leaving the Purrloin behind.</p><p>Bianca picked it up. “I’ll go find this little guy’s Trainer.” And we dispersed.</p><p>Only I stayed in the cave. I caught a Roggenrola and named her Yvette. A nice change of pace from my offense-oriented party, I supposed.</p><p>Rather than stay in Route 3, I healed in Striaton and went back to Route 2. I wanted to see if the rumors were true. What rumors, you ask? Some old tales that we used to tell in school about a Pokémon appearing in rustling grass, and only to Trainers who had gotten a Gym Badge.</p><p>I don’t know what I expected, but after some pacing, I actually did see some rustling grass! Who knew? I nervously approached the tuft, and then it appeared—a Pokémon that would probably be a Legendary if it were actually powerful.</p><p>An Audino. The biggest giver of EXP in the entire Unova region, and the perfect vehicle for grinding. When young Sue and Yvette beat even a low-leveled Audino, they grew at least 2 levels each. I ran around some more, and even more Audino appeared! Maybe I was just dumb for thinking it to all be astory when they were just so common, but I didn’t care. My journey would no longer be tedious, and my Pokémon would be safe.</p><p>After I was done with Route 2, I moved back to Route 3 and grinded the two against some Audino and Trainers. Sue was a useful asset for special damage, and Yvette resisted Normal-types and had a powerful STAB move in Rock Blast. In fact, the only Trainer Pokémon I struggled with was another Roggenrola—I’m surprised Disappoint’s fangs didn’t fall off.</p><p>I’m in Nacrene City now, outside the Pokémon Center. My entire team is at Lv. 15. But that isn’t enough. The Gym Leader here uses Normal-types, so Yvette is my best bet, but it’s always best to have a backup plan. For now, though, I might just try to enjoy the holidays while they last.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. January 1, 2021 4:16 PM</h2></a>
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    <p>I didn’t challenge the Gym today. I was absolutely right when I said I wasn’t ready . . . a full week ago? I am still <i>far</i> from ready. At this point, I’m starting to doubt I’ll ever get a full party of 6.</p><p>The first thing I did was head over to the Gym itself—the Nacrene Museum. The two buildings are one and the same. But that “N” person was there and took me by surprise.</p><p>“My dream,” he said, “is to create a world where people and Pokémon understand each other at the highest order. Do you feel the same way?”</p><p>“Uhh . . . .”</p><p>“Splendid. Now show me your true power!”</p><p>He sent out a Pidove, while I sent out Yvette, who easily beat it with Rock Blast. He then sent out a Pidove, so I switched out for Sue. This caused problems when a single Bubblebeam from Tympole brought Sue down to half. I switched again to Disappoint, took a Bubblebeam, and brought it down. His last Pokémon was a Timburr. I switched to Ferris, who survived a Low Kick. After enduring more attacks, Ferris brought it down with a Fury Swipes and two Incinerates.</p><p>After the battle, he slowly released each Pokémon, one by one.</p><p>“Do you know what my true goal is? To snuff out the pointless ideals of Trainers who believe they’re above all. To uncover the truth behind Pokémon psyche and expose it to the world, one step at a time. Only one being on Earth can help me with that goal. That’s right! Reshiram, the Vast White Dragon! It’s around here somewhere, I know it!”</p><p>He left without another word. After . . . <i>that</i>, I crept inside the museum. There were many delicacies such as an ancient Dragon Pokémon skeleton, some fossils, and an old black stone that looked unlike any other stone. Not sure why, though.</p><p>Pinwheel Forest was to the west—or at least the area surrounding it. I battled a friendly nurse who offered to heal my Pokémon for free, then decided to catch something. I caught a Tympole and named him Lemres. He was only Lv. 13, so he needed the most Audino grinding. I went back to Route 3 at first, but soon realized it wasn’t very ideal for grinding anymore. The Audino were very low-leveled compared to my 5, so after getting Lemres up a level, I headed back to Pinwheel to explore the area.</p><p>But Pinwheel had the opposite problem—everyone was too close to me in level for me to reliably keep my team in top condition. There were a lot of Trainers in that tiny area, and I’m not even sure I fought all of them. I fought a few regular wild Pokémon, but the Audino were my main target.</p><p>But here’s the thing. When I did find those pesky Audino, they were the same level as my Pokémon—around Lv. 15. Just proves how hard it is to grind levels in these trying times, I tell you. But i pushed on, figuring the extra EXP was more than worth it. Someone offered to give me the TM for Rock Smash along the way, which I taught to Yvette.</p><p>Near the big ridge to the east of Pinwheel, I fought one Audino. As Yvette was already Lv. 17 by this point, I decided not to use her. So I sent out Sue. Audino wasted most of its turns with Helping Hand and Refresh, but then it—or rather, he—used Attract, making Sue often miss attacks. He then used Double Slap, which was so powerful it brought Sue below half. I switched to Disappoint, who also got Attracted. The next few turns were an absolute mess of Disappoint refusing to attack out of attraction and Audino fumbling his attacks. The first Double Slap brought Disappoint below half as well, and one of them was a crit. I hoped for the best, ordering Disappoint to Tackle and Crunch over and over again, always either dealing chip damage or not registering.</p><p>But you know where this is going already, don’t you? Audino landed another Double Slap, killing Disappoint.</p><p>I did what I should have done already and had Yvette finish him off with Rock Smash. I and my party of 4 trudged back to the Nacrene Center badly battered—I didn’t even stop to talk to the friendly Nurse on the way there. I arranged Disappoint’s burial and decided, that’s it. No more grinding today. At least not in Pinwheel. I need to take it slow and easy, lest I make another crucial mistake like that. I need to make do with all of the Pokémon that I have.</p><p>But I’m tired already, and I just keep holding off on this journey. I’ve been waking up later every day. Nothing that has happened today has fully registered in my mind. Is this what adulthood feels like? Arceus, I hope not.</p><p>Thank you for everything you’ve done, Disappoint. You did anything but.</p>
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